


Boys Chase Girls

by Dr_Trunks_Briefs



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Child Abuse, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-12 17:51:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5675095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr_Trunks_Briefs/pseuds/Dr_Trunks_Briefs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gohan is happy. He has a girlfriend, friends, family, good grades, and he doesn't have to keep secrets anymore. Gohan is happy. He has a future - a REAL future that doesn't involve killing alien monsters. He's happy, okay! So... why does he feel so... unhappy...? Post-Buu, yaoi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Great Saiyaman, Rescued!

"Do you like boys, Gohan?" he remembered his mother asking him. That day, it was a mild, sunny day at the foot of Mount Paozu, yet he was stuck inside, studying at the kitchen table while his mother prepared lunch. To make her ask such a question was the growing rebellion of her son – a rebellious side she feared would come as he aged. He'd always been on the… feminine side, so she attempted to instill in him a strong understanding of what he was expected to do as her only child:

Grow up, marry a nice girl, and father a few children of his own.

Of course, she never said these things so blatantly. As rebellious as the young boy had been lately – truly, he was becoming a delinquent – such an obvious and strict order for his future would be thrown out the window and he'd do the exact opposite, just because. Without his father around, who was stuck in space and refused to return home, Chichi was finding it increasingly difficult to handle her boy's worrisome behavior.

And lately, especially with the statement he'd just made, it was his sexual orientation that had her sweating. She refused to show her nerves, though.

The conversation started like this:

"I saw you playing with that little girl from the village – her name is Lime, isn't it? She's really cute!" Chichi had said. Gohan hummed his passive agreement, but it was hardly the confirmation she was looking for. "She really seems to have taken a liking to you!" she pressed on, sneaking a look at the boy.

"We're friends," he said finally, never looking up from his workbook. Chichi gave him a sly smile, but he didn't see it, being as deep in his studies as he was.

"If you like her, then you'd better be nice to her, young man! Girls don't like delinquents." He didn't respond. "Do you like her, too?"

Flipping the page to start on the next set of problems, Gohan gave a small nod. Eyes lighting up, Chichi clasped her hands together and momentarily forgot the food cooking on the stove.

"Really?!" she said, excited. Gohan's eyes snapped up to his mother, having not really been paying attention to her. He slowly sorted backwards through their conversation, his face heating up.

"N-Not like that!" he insisted. "We're just friends! We play together – that's all!" He didn't want his mother to get carried away because she misunderstood his relationship with a girl. He was only seven years old, but for some reason his mother was bent on knowing if he had any crushes on any of the village girls. "I don't even like girls!" he insisted, blushing madly at his workbook.

Chichi's excitement came to a sudden stop with her son's declaration. She stared at him, wide-eyed and fearful, but he refused to meet her eyes as he scribbled nonsense in the margins of his book.

"Don't be silly. Of course you like girls. Boys like girls." She tried to sound firm, but couldn't stop the slight waver in her voice. Was this it? Was this Gohan's greatest act of rebellion? She'd been fearing it since he returned from the torment Piccolo and those Saiyans put him through.

"Not all boys like girls," Gohan replied, still not meeting her eyes. He nervously drew shaky swirls between the formulas. "I read an article about two boy penguins raising an egg together. So, not all boys like girls…!" He could feel his mother's gaze burning into the skin on his head. If there was something his mother did not like to hear, it was an argument.

"Those are penguins, not _boys_ ," she replied, having completely forgotten the food on the stove by this point. " _Little boys_ like _little girls_." This time, she definitely made sure to sound firm. Gohan didn't respond, his hand coming to a stop.

Chichi stared hard at her son. The boy was beautiful, truly. Long, soft black hair, dark grey eyes, long, black lashes, flawless skin, and full, pink lips… He really took more after Chichi, herself, than Goku. But boys… Boys should be strong and rough. They should be able to provide and protect and fear no one. They should grow up tall, powerful, and intelligent, and they should take a wife and have children.

Gohan, he… Gohan was different.

"Do you like boys, Gohan?" she asked finally, fearing his answer. The food on the stove was burning, but her eyes were locked on her young son.

"…I don't like boys," he replied quietly, after a moment of silent thought. Chichi took in a soft, shaky breath, feeling worry settle in the pit of her stomach at his weak assurance. Gohan began working in his book once more, "I like science and dragons."

Ten years later, Gohan found himself remembering that conversation. Squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head, he turned onto his side, beneath his bed comforter, and concentrated on his task. Though he was alone in bed in the early morning hours, inside his mind he was wrapped up with Videl, hot and sweaty and naked.

He wrapped his long, slender fingers around his hot, throbbing shaft and pumped slowly, trying to imagine it was her hand, instead. Small, soft, unsure hands on his most intimate organ, touching him and inviting him to take more.

Despite the vivid imagery, he began to soften instead, driving him to more frustration. By this point, he was tempted to get up and retrieve the dirty magazines that Roshi and Krillin gave him for his 16th birthday, but a shred of him was still determined to cum from imagining his girlfriend.

He shifted onto his back and raised his knees, throwing his free arm over his face. Though he and Videl hadn't gone as far as sex, Gohan drew on his imagination to bring him closer to the edge. He desperately envisioned his girlfriend's sweet, soft face, tinged pink and watching him with uncertainty as he spread her legs and drove inside of her.

His hips moved with his fantasy, rocking against his hand as the end grew near. Just a little more… Her sweet perfume, soft lips, plush breasts, hot, hot heat…

Finally, he jerked and warm globs of cum shot onto his bare stomach. Riding out his orgasm, his head fell back against his pillow and he panted, spent from his early morning activities.

Sighing, he opened his dark grey eyes and glanced at the clock on his bedside table. 6:03 AM. 45 minutes. For 45 fucking minutes he's been trying to drive that damned dream out of his head by imagining sex with his girlfriend.

His _girlfriend_. He has a _girlfriend._ Rubbing his face, Gohan released another sigh. He has a girlfriend; he likes girls. So _why_ is he having wet dreams about getting fucked by guys?

Particularly _one_ guy…

But that guy was gone, and gone for good.

45 minutes or not, he finally managed to cum to the fantasy of having sex with Videl. It was a small step, but a step in the right direction, nonetheless. _But_ , he suddenly thought as he sat up, careful not to get cum stains on his sheets, _if I were thinking of_ him _then I'd have cum in only a few minutes…_

He didn't mean to think of it. Growling, he bumped the heel of his palm roughly on the side of his head as if to knock the very thought out of his mind.

After the defeat of Majin Buu, Gohan and Videl decided that they should start dating. Well, it was really Videl's idea and Gohan went along with it. Before then, he hadn't really thought of her as anything more than a friend, but all the tragedies that Buu put them through made him see her in a new light.

Videl was pretty. She was smart and brave and she understood Gohan on a deeper level than any other girl he'd ever known. Gohan liked Videl a lot – he worried about her safety and comforted her when she was unhappy. Since he already liked her, it was only logical that they should be together. They had fun together, going on dates, and recently they started doing more intimate things than just kissing.

Last week, for the first time ever, Gohan felt what it was like to have someone other than himself touch him _there_. His heart was pounding, he was nervous, and he was eager…

But after a few minutes of stroking and touching, even while fondling and kissing her… he just couldn't get it up. He was humiliated, even though Videl insisted it was probably just his nerves. The day after, they tried again, and an intrusive thought of _him_ forced its way into Gohan's head. He responded to it immediately, against his will.

The more he tried to push the thought away, the stronger it became. _His_ hand on Gohan's cock, _his_ lips on Gohan's neck, cheeks, lips, and ears… Gohan came within minutes. Guilty, Gohan couldn't tell his girlfriend that it actually wasn't her 'natural talent' that made him cum so quickly.

Since then, Gohan has been having wet dreams about _him_. He hadn't seen the man since Bojack, but everything about him was still so fresh and vivid in his memory. His toned arms, chest, and back, his sharp, blue eyes, his deep, warm voice…

His heart skipped a beat, but guilt settled in immediately after.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ Gohan scolded himself as he wiped his belly clean. _Stop thinking things like that. Stupid, stupid, stupid…_

Even though he woke up so early in the morning, Gohan still barely made it to school on time. A pair of big, periwinkle eyes met him with a smile as he rushed in, paper falling out of his bookbag.

"Morning, Gohan," Videl greeted, watching her boyfriend quickly slide into his seat beside her.

"Am I late? Did the bell ring?" he asked, looking around nervously.

"Geez, Gohan, maybe you should start waking up earlier," Erasa said with a grin. "One more tardy and your mom will hear about it…"

"Can't you fly faster than a jet plane or something?" Sharpner asked from the other side of Erasa. "Kind of seems like you're trying to be late."

Though the world forgot about Majin Buu, Gohan's powers and family history were not things that were included in that wish to Shenron. Even now, tabloid magazines dove deep into his and his family's personal lives and published it for all the world to read. They especially loved it when Gohan and Videl decided to be a couple.

What was more juicy than the World Champion's only daughter falling in love with the Delivery Boy?

The public loved their young couple and consumed anything and everything about them, right down to the tiniest spat between them. Having grown up in the limelight, Videl barely noticed it, but Gohan felt the invasion with every grated nerve.

As class started, Gohan's thoughts kept turning to his dream. He would shake his head and rub his eyes and throw himself back into the lecture, but still, thoughts of _him_ came back, and his body was reacting.

Videl took notice, since she sat right next to him at their table. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see his face twist as if in pain or anger. Did he have a fight with his mother this morning, or something?

"Gohan, how would you solve #64?" the teacher asked. Gohan blinked, eyes wide. What?

"U-um…"

"#64, Gohan. How would you solve it?"

He looked down at his textbook, but there was no problem #64. His heart started to race as his classmates' eyes turned to him curiously. A few began to snicker as he flipped through the chapter, desperately looking for whatever #64 the teacher was asking for.

Videl reached over and flipped his book to the right page and pointed at the problem just as the teacher's face turned to a scowl. Before Gohan could answer, though, the teacher snapped, "If you're going to come to class, Gohan, _pay attention_. Next time, it's a write-up. Now, is there anyone who _has_ been paying attention that can answer the problem?"

Gohan sighed and rubbed his burning face, humiliated. When a piece of paper slid across his desk, he glanced down to see a familiar handwriting.

" _Are you okay?_ " it read. He smiled a wry smile and nodded his head. Videl pulled the paper back to her desk and scribbled another note just below the previous one, " _Liar. What's wrong?_ " This time, Gohan shook his head, smile dropping from his face.

The problem was that he was hard as a fucking rock under the table, and it was because of his gay wet dream the night before. But, he couldn't scribble that on a sheet of paper. He couldn't tell Videl. He couldn't tell _anyone_.

" _We'll talk later,_ " she wrote, then, leaving the paper on Gohan's desk. He breathed a sigh of relief through his nose, again turning his attention to the lecture. Though he hoped the _problem_ would go away, it didn't. Though it became less intense and easier to hide, as lunchtime drew closer, his erection and the intrusive fantasies were back full-force.

Giving up, Gohan subtly leaned back and glanced behind him, as if he were looking at the clock. _If I sit close to the table, Videl won't be able to see me do it…_ Luckily, he and his friends always sat in the back row, so there was no one behind him to see him commit the act he was thinking of committing.

Sliding forward on his seat and resting one arm in his lap, Gohan carefully and quietly unbuttoned his pants and took himself out. There were panels at the front of the auditorium-style desks, so no one would be able to see him handle himself. As long as he kept his arm still and only used his wrist, not even his girlfriend would notice what he was doing.

_Just get rid of it. Get rid of it and be done with it._

Swallowing, Gohan pretended to read along with his eyes, but let the intrusive thoughts of _him_ fill his head. _His_ hands on him, _his_ breath in his ear, _his_ sweat dripping down onto Gohan's skin… After a few minutes of subtle tugging, warm, white liquid splurted onto the underside of Gohan's desk. He managed to stop himself from twitching, but couldn't stop the satisfied, shuddering sigh or the soft blush on his cheeks.

Videl looked over to him, blinking curiously. What was that? His face is red. Does he have a fever? Is that why he wasn't paying attention today? Something was definitely wrong with her boyfriend, but she wasn't sure what it was. Gohan had a bad habit of keeping secrets, even if it was something small like " _what's bothering you_."

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him cradle his head with both hands, donning an expression of defeat. All morning he looked frustrated, as if he had an argument, but now… She frowned and looked back to her textbook.

They both jumped when Videl's watch suddenly started ringing. Sitting back in his chair, Gohan watched her expectantly as she answered the call.

The police chief's frantic face appeared on the screen, "Videl! There's a robbery in progress at Satan City Bank! We've got the guys on the roof of the building, but they're loaded and opening fire to anyone who gets near! We need to fast – I think they have an escape copter on the way!"

"Got it. On my way," she said, determined, and cut the connection. "I've gotta go, I'm sorry!" she apologized as she ran out the door, leaving her books behind. Gohan jumped to his feet, as well, but was stopped by the teacher.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked, glaring at him.

"Bathroom," he said as he ran for the door.

"Gohan – no, wait! Ugh." He was gone.

Though everyone knew he was Saiyaman, he refused to admit it. After all, Saiyaman was a vigilante, and openly admitting to being him would land Gohan with fines and maybe even jail time, despite all the good he's done for the city. Sure, he used the name for the tournament, but no one could _prove_ that he and the person stopping crimes in Satan City were one in the same.

Gohan made it to the bank in no time, catching up with Videl quite easily. Just as the police chief said, the bank robbers were on the roof, shooting at anything and everyone who dared to come close.

"It's not nice to shoot down copters," he shouted over the commotion, landing directly behind the robbers. They jumped and turned, greeted by the sight of the city's red-caped hero.

"What the fu – It's Saiyaman!"

"Don't you have school, little boy?"

Gohan smirked as they leveled their guns on him.

"I heard you're pretty smart, kid. Too bad we're going to have to scramble your brains," the leader said with an evil grin before unloading the clip on the teenager. Gohan caught every bullet with ease, smirk never fading, and let the last bullet whiz by his head. The robbers stared in shock at his speed – it was as if the bullets were hitting a steel wall.

A loud boom behind him drew Gohan's attention. The rogue bullet managed to pierce a nearby police unit in just the right way to force the blades to stop, sending the copter into a tailspin toward the ground.

"Oh, no you don't!" the leader shouted as Gohan turned to rescue them. He snatched his cape and yanked it back, but instead of getting the boy, the only thing he pulled back was the red fabric. Gohan, capeless, bolted into the air and caught the copter out of midair.

"Turn it off!" he shouted as loud as he could, watching as Videl's little yellow vehicle buzzed nearby to rescue the officers. They did as they were told, jumping in with Videl and capsulizing the damaged unit. In the distraction, another copter landed on the roof of the bank, ushering the robbers inside.

Gohan shot back to them, landing next to it.

"Get out of there _now_ or I'm coming in to get you out, myself!" he warned. The pilots laughed and hoisted rifles into their arms. The robbers, who knew better, tried to stop them, but the pilots shrugged them off.

"What's a skinny little pansy boy like you gonna do to _this_ , huh?" one asked while flouncing his rifle.

"Yeah, why don't you go home to your boyfriend and ask him to put his cock up your ass one more time? Or you could stay here and let us put _lead_ up your ass."

Gohan, blushing, growled and jumped on top of the copter, grabbing the blades and breaking them off. The robbers and their pilots' eyes doubled in size as they began to panic. With how skinny and dorky Saiyaman looked and acted, it was hard to believe he was really as strong as they said he was – but to see him with their own eyes!

Before they could unload the rest of their weapons on him, they suddenly found themselves without weapons at all.

Videl landed her vehicle on the roof and jumped out along with the other officers, ready to beat the robbers into submission, but they were caught by surprise when the empty-handed robbers ran to them and hid behind them. Their eyes were wide and terrified of the green-clad hero near the heap of broken machinery and bent weapons.

"Please don't let him get us! Pleee-hee-hee-heeeeze!" they cried. Videl snorted a laugh, trying to keep herself contained, but lost it when the officers started laughing, as well.

"Sai-Saiyaman," one of the officers wheezed between laughs, once all the robbers and their accomplices were cuffed. The hero smiled at him, knowing what was coming, as he clipped his cape back into place. "Saiyaman, you're under arrest for interfering with police – aaand he's gone," he said as he watched Saiyaman back up to the ledge of the roof and hop off, out of sight. As if he expected anything else. They didn't _want_ to arrest Saiyaman, but there was a law to uphold.

The citizens and officers below watched in awe as their hero jumped from the building without fear, falling a few storeys, a confident smirk present.

He shrieked in surprise, however, when he was suddenly snatched out of the air, knocking his sunglasses off his face. His breath caught in his throat as he was carried with ease, cradled protectively in strong arms. He met sharp, blue eyes, stern as they stared back at him.

"What are you thinking, jumping off of a building?! You would've died if I hadn't…"

"T-T-Tru…" Gohan stuttered, making his 'savior' trail off in mid-scold.

"Gohan?" he questioned, realization evident on his handsome face. The very same face Gohan hadn't been able to get out of his head for the last week. The very face he couldn't stop staring at years ago. The same face that stirred the feelings he buried and reburied out of shame and fear; ones he fought and denied since he was a little boy.

" _Trunks…!_ " he squeaked, watching an excited grin pull at the other boy's lips.


	2. The Great Saiyaman, Embarrassed!

Trunks blinked, still hanging in the air. He pulled his hand away from his mouth and stared down at the bright red liquid drip from his fingertips. As the crowds of people several storeys below him roared, he carefully thumbed through the events of the past few minutes.

As he was flying toward Gohan's school, he saw a guy fall from the top floor of a building. Acting on instinct, he snatched the man out of the air, thus saving his life. Only, that man turned out to be Gohan in some strange getup. Trunks suddenly saw stars as pain exploded from his mouth. As he recovered, Gohan's weight lifted from his arms. When he opened his eyes again, the other half-Saiyan was nowhere to be found, ki hidden.

It took a second for Trunks to realize that he was just sucker punched.

"Hey!" he heard a shout from above. Looking up, Trunks gasped and held his arms out to catch yet another jumper, but the girl laughed nervously and waved her hands defensively. "It's okay, I know how to fly."

Trunks let his arms drop, only to lift his hand to his lip again. Still bleeding – ow! Yep, definitely hurts. Goddamn. Blue eyes watched the girl curiously as she spoke to the watch on her wrist.

"I'll talk to him, Chief."

"Thanks for your help today, Videl! If you see Saiyaman, give him our thanks, too!"

The girl – Videl – smiled at Trunks as she clicked a button on her watch.

"The officers on the ground down there told me you _rescued_ Saiyaman." It came out with an amused giggle. Trunks raised a lavender eyebrow.

"Saiyaman?"

"Yeah. Come on, I think we should talk."

Trunks thought it over before following the girl through the air. Honing in on her ki, he found she was powerful for a human. She could give even Krillin a hard time if she really wanted to, but she was nowhere on the same level as Trunks or the other Saiyans.

"So, did you know that boy?" she asked as they flew high above the city.

"Yeah. He and I were friends when we were…" Uh… Well, they were friends when he was a kid, until he died, then he came to this universe and they were friends again when Gohan was a kid, now… "We've been friends for a long time."

She gave him a suspicious look, as if testing him.

"What's his name, then?"

Trunks hesitated, once again thinking it over. If Gohan was going by another name and wearing that weird uniform, he probably didn't want people knowing his name, right?

"I don't think he'd want me to tell you, but I know his name." He returned her suspicious look, "Do _you_ know his name?"

She giggled and dropped her suspicious expression, "Yes. He's the one who taught me how to fly, actually. Listen, I know you're no ordinary human." She eyed him up and down as they soared leisurely through the midday air, "Tell me… Are you a Saiyan? You look like Bulma's son."

He smirked. So this girl knew about Saiyans! In that case, "His name is Gohan. I met him when he was 7 years old, but I've been gone a while. I didn't recognize him in that weird outfit."

She smiled back, "That answered one of my questions. I think you shocked him – he's not used to being the one being rescued. I knew you were tough, because not just anyone can withstand a punch from him. How's your lip, by the way?"

"It's fine. If a split lip were all it took to take me down, I'd have died a long time ago," he said with a little grin, remembering the surprised expression on the boy's face. But, why had he hit him in the first place?

They stopped above a building – Orange Star High School. They descended and landed on the roof, where Videl turned to Trunks and held out her hand.

"My name is Videl."

"Trunks," he responded, taking her small hand into his, then released it. She turned her head curiously.

"You look like Bulma's son, you have the same name, you're obviously very strong… Where are you from?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me. Gohan's told me about how he defeated Cell, about aliens from outer space, visiting alien planets, growing a tail, turning into a giant monkey, gigantic dragons that grant wishes… I've even seen what the otherworld is like, firsthand, before being wished back to life. Do your best to surprise me."

Trunks drew his lips into a fine line. So Gohan told this girl about lots of things – but he wasn't one of them?

"I'm Bulma's son – the same kid you apparently know. I traveled here in a time machine from 17 years in the future. I first came back when Gohan was 7 years old to change history, because the world was about to be destroyed by two cyborg murderers named 17 and 18. Cell – that bio-cockroach monster – he was from my future, too. It's my fault Cell attacked this world at all."

Videl stared at him, periwinkle eyes wide, mouth open slightly. Trunks waited patiently for her to process it all.

"…So, what do I win?" he asked as she closed her mouth, finally blinking. She sighed and smiled a wry smile, shaking her head.

"Oh, there's still a lot I don't know about that boy…" She then crossed her arms and eyed the lavender-haired man, "Gohan doesn't usually react the way he did to you. I've never known him to hurt someone he likes, much less run away from them…" She trailed off and straightened her body, glaring at him with intensity, as if trying to read his mind. Trunks was suddenly very aware of the pain still pulsing from his hurt lip.

"…You wouldn't happen to have bad blood between you two, would you?"

Gohan groaned and fell back onto the Nimbus cloud as it carried him to Mount Paozu. After the bank incident, he spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around in the park in Satan City in his school clothes, keeping his ki masked and a tab on Trunks's location. The time traveler stuck around his school the entire time, as if waiting for Gohan to turn up, until school let out. When Gohan never showed, Trunks lowered his ki, and that was the last Gohan knew of his whereabouts.

Gohan couldn't turn up. He couldn't face him. What would he say?

_Thanks for catching me!_

_Sorry for punching you in the face!_

_I'm so happy to see you again!_

_What are you doing here?_

_Is there trouble in your world?_

_I've been thinking of you a lot._

_I can't get you out of my head._

_I've missed you._

_Why did you leave me…?_

Groaning again, he rolled onto his side and drew his legs up to his chest. He knew that wouldn't be the last of the time traveler. He'd have to think up some reason – some excuse not to see him. He had to avoid Trunks at all costs. Knowing him, Trunks would just decide to disappear back to his own universe one day.

The teenager's throat tightened at the thought, but he swallowed it down and shook his head.

No more of that.

Nimbus slowed as it neared the Son home. He smiled, looking down at it as the deep red sun cast long shadows from the other side of the mountain. It was late in the day – surely his mother would be wondering where he's been. He couldn't possibly tell her he skipped half a day of school, so as he hopped off the cloud, he started thinking up excuses.

Deciding on one that involved Videl, Gohan pushed the front door open. His mother wouldn't complain if he told her he was spending quality time with the girl – Chichi _loved_ it when he and Videl spent time together.

All trains of thought stopped as he entered his home. Sitting on the living room floor with his little brother was Trunks. Not the kid – the time traveler. The very same Trunks that Gohan had literally _just_ resolved to never see again.

With a little smirk, Trunks leaned back on his palms and watched Gohan squirm.

"Hey, Gohan!" he greeted cheerfully. Sitting on the couch behind the time traveler, Videl smiled at him as well and gestured to a very familiar yellow backpack. His backpack. The one he completely forgot about at school.

"Forget something?" she asked, but her smile faded and her eyes widened. She gave her boyfriend an apologetic look.

Gohan suddenly felt a very dark presence behind him. He feared turning around. Shoulders stiff and his head down, he knew what was about to happen.

"Gohan…" a dangerous female voice said. Gohan flinched. "In the kitchen. Now."

Trunks grimaced, able to hear Chichi ream her son with perfect clarity from his place in the living room. He couldn't help but feel guilty – after all, it was his fault that Gohan skipped class. The boy was clearly avoiding him.

…Not that Trunks could blame him.

He smiled without humor.

"…You aren't a little boy anymore, Gohan! You should know how to be responsible! How can I trust you to go to class _and stay there_?! What do you think I'm paying all that tuition for?! For you to skip class or goof around?! I don't think so! Am I going to have to follow you to school every day and pick you up afterwards? I have work to do, so I can't waste time doting on my immature son who should _know better at his age_! Hey, are you even listening?!"

"Trunks!" a little voice called his attention back. Goten was smiling at him, "Daddy and my friend Trunks told me you're _really good_ at fighting! Did Vegeta teach you?" Behind him, Videl leaned forward to see his face.

"Ah – no, my father died when I was a baby, so I didn't know him until I came to this world. It was Gohan who trained me to fight."

"Gohan trained you to fight?" Videl exclaimed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the boy in question perk up, only to be scolded by his mother once again for not listening.

"Yes. Gohan taught me everything – he practically raised me, him and my mom. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't know how to read or write. Or, well, I wouldn't know how to do a lot of things, if it weren't for him…" he let his eyes slide over to the chided teenager, who was staring hard at the kitchen table.

Videl giggled softly, glancing at Goten. "Sounds like you have a lot of respect for him. The Trunks in our world respects Gohan, too. That kid doesn't listen to anyone except him, Vegeta, and Bulma." She then cradled her chin in her hands, tilting her head. "If you and Gohan are so close, how come he didn't come with you? It'd be interesting to see a Gohan from another world."

Trunks again drew his lips into a line, "He died when I was 14. The androids killed him."

The room was silent, except for Chichi's berating. She didn't seem to notice as she went on about how she worked tirelessly homeschooling her son only for him to try and throw it all away by skipping class and getting home late.

"…I'm so sorry," Videl said softly, eyes downcast. To her surprise, she heard an amused snort come from the time traveler.

"No need to apologize. Gohan was my teacher; my best friend – he was an amazing person, and I appreciate everything he gave me and taught me. But he's better off dead than in our miserable world. Everyone he loved was dead, so he's up there screwing around with Krillin and his father. I actually got to see him again the time I died, when Cell killed me. He was happy."

Videl was about to say something else when Gohan stalked through the living room, grabbing his backpack off the couch. Without saying anything, he disappeared into his bedroom. Chichi came out of the kitchen and heaved a tired sigh, giving the others an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry you had to hear all of that. I wish I could say it wouldn't happen again, but knowing how airheaded he can be sometimes, it's bound to." She smiled then, looking over at her two guests, "You two are welcome to stay for dinner if you'd like! Goku might even come home tonight – he's been at King Kai's for the last week. I know he'd be thrilled to see you again, Trunks dear."

Nodding, Trunks thanked her. He would be a fool to turn down a dinner made by Chichi.

Gohan didn't come out of his room. After an hour and a half of playing with the youngest Son, Chichi called them all to eat.

"Gohan!" she shouted down the hall, but there was no response. Extending his senses, he could tell the teen hadn't left. "Gohan, you come out here right now and eat with the rest of us!"

To no avail, Chichi returned to the kitchen with a sigh. "I'm sorry he's acting this way. He'd rather sit in his room and pout than to be the adult he claims to be."

Trunks shifted in his seat, poking at his food. Beside him, Goten was shoveling food into his mouth at a typical Saiyan rate and Videl was sitting across from him, frowning at her own plate. She had a concentrated look on her face. As they played with Goten earlier, Trunks decided he liked Videl. After all, a friend of Gohan's was a friend of his. If Gohan liked her, she had to be a good person, right?

"It's my fault," Trunks admitted, catching Chichi by surprise. "I embarrassed him earlier, so he's probably mad at me."

"Oh Trunks, it's not your fault. Gohan has always been kind of difficult. Even as a little boy, he was always running around doing whatever he wanted, whether or not I was okay with it. He'd yell at me and disappear from the house, then come back days later without telling me where he'd been. He's calmed down a lot since Goku died, but he still has his moments." She smiled over at her youngest son, who hadn't even paused to breathe, "Good thing Goten's so easygoing. I don't know if I'd be able to handle two of them."

Trunks frowned again, looking up at the closed door to Gohan's bedroom. Honing in on his ki, Trunks felt the sour droop that occurred whenever something was bothering him.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, Trunks, but what are you doing here?" Chichi asked, drawing his attention again. "Have you been by to see your mother at all?"

"Yes, I arrived this morning and met with her," he said with a little smile. "She was excited to see me, as you'd expect. I saw my father and Trunks, too. It was a little strange to see him – after all, the last time I saw that kid, he was just a baby." Chichi smiled and looked over at Videl, who was listening to the time traveler with intent.

"As for what I'm going here… Actually, I needed to talk to Gohan. See, I was hoping he would be willing to tutor me in a few subjects. Since I killed the androids, my world has been slowly rebuilding. I wanted to bring Capsule Corporation back, but I don't have enough education in mathematics, sciences, or engineering for that to be more than a dream. Gohan was always innovative and he was talented in those subjects, so my mother suggested he tutor me."

"Well, that's noble of you to want to bring Capsule Corp. back in your world, Trunks, but Gohan is busy with his studies. He's lucky I let him spend as much time with Videl as I do," she smiled at the girl, who dropped her eyes and blushed. Trunks raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, Trunks, but I simply can't allow Gohan to spend any more time away from his school work than necessary. What about your mother in your world? Couldn't she tutor you?"

Trunks sat back in his seat, meeting Chichi's eyes, "My mother has died. It's only me."

Her dark eyes softened and she placed a small, pale hand over her heart. "Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry to hear that. What happened? Is it something our Bulma needs to be concerned with?"

With a small shake of his head, Trunks gave a sad smile. His eyes drifted back down to his plate, noticing that Goten finally stopped eating long enough to listen. "It was asbestos exposure that occurred while I was fighting the androids and Cell. It wore down on her lungs over time. Because the world was still so underdeveloped when she was exposed, we couldn't get her treatment before it was too late."

"Miss Bulma's not gonna die from isbestis is she?!" Goten exclaimed in a slight panic. He didn't understand exactly what the older version of his best friend had said – other than the fact that Bulma had died. He didn't want Miss Bulma to die! The woman was practically a second mother to him! Trunks chuckled at the boy.

"No, she'll be alright. Capsule Corporation in this world was renovated a few years ago, according to my mother here. They don't use asbestos in their construction or engineering anymore, so she's safe. Though… her smoking probably isn't helping her…"

Videl ate in silence as she listened to the others talk. _This guy is a bundle of laughs_ , she said to herself, eyeing him while he wasn't looking. He was definitely Trunks appearance-wise, there was no doubt about it. Their personalities, however, were what threw Videl off.

She knew Trunks, the kid. He was a spoiled, impudent brat who refused to listen to anyone except a handful of people. The two of them argued fairly often. When she and the boys were looking for the dragon balls together, before that Broly guy attacked them, the kid was practically unbearable. Though he was extremely strong, Trunks was a bit of a drama queen.

This person, on the other hand, was polite to the max. He sat with excellent posture, speaking gently and concisely, making eye contact, and swallowing his food before opening his mouth. The two of them couldn't be more different.

What could have possibly happened that made Gohan react as dramatically as he had? As long as she'd known her boyfriend, he _never_ treated anyone like that. Trunks seemed like a perfect gentleman –possessing many of the qualities Gohan boasted, himself. The gentle voice, the good posture, the good manners… Why would Gohan act this way?

"…About the tutoring, Chichi," Trunks began, earning a stern frown for bringing it up again despite the fact Chichi had refused permission.

"I like you, Trunks, I really do, but I simply can't allow Gohan to spend so much time teaching you to – …"

"Mother offered to pay him for his time," Trunks continued, cutting her off gently. It was effective enough, as she stared at the boy with wide eyes. He let his eyes drift over to her again, "She said she'd even pay his tuition until he graduated, on top of regular pay, if he tutored me… College tuition as well, if he agreed to continue tutoring m – …"

" _GOHAN! GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!_ "

Trunks, Videl, and Goten all jumped in their seats at the woman's outburst. She stood from her seat, knocking it back with a clatter.

In his bedroom, Gohan cringed at the sound of his mother's voice. She sounded shrill and urgent, but Gohan still took his time.

He knew he was being a brat. He knew he was being a brat in front of Videl, which he regretted. But he was unexpectedly 'rescued' by _him_ , caught entirely off guard, and then thoroughly chewed out in front of him and his girlfriend by his _mommy_. Mortified, he couldn't even make eye contact with his sweet little girlfriend before slinking off to his bedroom.

He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes, grimacing as his contacts scraped. They were old and his last pair, and he didn't have the money right now to get more. He'd have to switch back to his glasses soon. That meant he wouldn't be able to change into his Saiyaman costume without being recognized – you can't wear eyeglasses beneath sunglasses, after all. Saiyaman was the only reason he even wore his contacts in the first place.

…Not that that was a problem. Since _he_ knocked Gohan's sunglasses off his face earlier, Gohan wouldn't be able to change into Saiyaman even if he wanted to. No sunglasses, no hidden identity. He didn't have the money to buy more sunglasses, either. Videl would be able to handle bad guys herself until he could find the money to order new contacts, just as she was able to handle them for the years before they met.

He shook his head before looking himself over in the mirror. He looked pretty bad. Red face, messy hair, seemingly permanent scowl… It was _his_ fault.

What makes that jerk think he can just waltz back into Gohan's life?!

Whatever.

He can stay, but no one can force Gohan to spend time with him.

Gohan gave his face one last frustrated rub before finally exiting his room.

" _GOHAN! I SAID COME HERE!_ "

"I'm here," he replied as he shut his bedroom door behind him and sulked through the hallway. His face darkened when he met Videl's eyes – surely she thought he was being a baby about all this. But she didn't understand, and it wasn't exactly something he could tell her. "I'm not hungry." He avoided Trunks's gaze at all costs, but he could still feel those blue eyes burning into him.

"Eat or starve, you're a big boy and you can decide for yourself," his mother said with a huff, crossing her arms. "But starting tomorrow, you're going to be taking some time out of your day every day to tutor Trunks!" She gestured to the man in question as she spoke, looking at her son as if daring him to complain.

Gohan's eye twitched.

"No discussion. After school tomorrow, you'll go to Capsule Corporation. Bulma will tell you where you need to start."

Taking a deep breath, Gohan swallowed down a defiant growl. They would definitely be having a 'discussion' about it later, and they both knew it. But neither were willing to get into a shouting match in front of their guests, on top of the ass-chewing Gohan got earlier.

Videl stood to leave soon after dinner, sensing the tense atmosphere between mother and son. Goten was blissfully unaware as he ran out of the house, aiming to explore one last time before bedtime. Trunks stood to leave, as well, and as he was thanking Chichi for the meal, he watched from the corner of his eye as Gohan led Videl to the front door.

"Thank you for asking Gohan to tutor you," Chichi said happily. Trunks nodded, in the back of his mind knowing that he and the boy had never actually spoken. "This will be a great opportunity for him to revisit the basics! And the money is nice, too."

Gohan suddenly leaned down and caught Videl's lips in a soft, romantic kiss. Trunks froze entirely, hardly hearing the blissful noise Chichi made upon witnessing such a cute moment between her son and a young, sweet girl like Videl.

He felt ice fill his belly as the girl blushed and pushed Gohan away, whining his name softly and cutely with a little grin on her face.

"They're just perfect for each other, aren't they, Trunks?" Chichi asked, giggling as if she'd won a prize. Trunks couldn't bring himself to answer, as he was pretty sure he lost all cognition.

"See you tomorrow," Gohan said to her tenderly, stroking the curve of her slender waist before lifting his hand. She nodded and smiled, face a sweet pink, before waving to Chichi and Trunks on her way out.

When she lifted off toward Satan City, Gohan turned back to the house, his eyes finally landing on the time traveler. For the first time since Trunks 'rescued' him earlier that day, Gohan made eye contact with him, icy as it was. Then, slowly, he walked by them, ignoring his mother babble on about how perfect he and Videl were together.

"Bye, Trunks," he dismissed in a low, dark voice, before brushing by him. Trunks stood there, staring ahead, letting Gohan's words settle heavily on his chest. His lip trembled slightly before he swallowed, his dry throat scraping painfully with the reflex.

With a sharp turn on his heel, he grabbed Gohan's wrist tightly in his hand. Chichi stopped her rambling, watching the sudden movement with curiosity. Gohan's eyes were wide, his back still to the other hybrid, but he could somehow see that face so clearly in his mind. Trunks was frozen again, as if he hadn't meant to reach out and grab the boy, but he recovered quickly enough.

"See you tomorrow, Gohan!" he said with confidence, giving the pale boy's wrist a tight squeeze. Without further conversation, Trunks waved to the boy's mother and left through the open door, blasting off into the night air.


	3. The Great Saiyaman, Resistant!

"What happened to your face?!" Bulma asked, eyes wide as she looked over her son from the future. His bottom lip was enflamed and cracked with dried blood; though it was obvious he tried to clean it once already.

"Gohan was _so happy_ to see me that he kissed me," Trunks replied in a deadpan tone, flopping face down on the couch. Bulma sat by his legs, crossing hers, and took out her cigarettes.

"Must have been one hell of a kiss…" she muttered as she lit one up and took a long, satisfying drag. With a sigh, she watched Trunks's inner turmoil come out in the form of a disgruntled groan.

"I saw stars," was the growled response. "Thanks for telling me about _Videl_ , by the way."

Bulma cringed visibly as blue eyes identical to her own cut at her. "Met her, did you? She's really a nice girl… Called me old once, though. But are you really surprised he has a girlfriend, son? Gohan's a handsome boy. He's smart and sweet – girls have been chasing him since his first day of school. Videl just happens to be one of the nice ones."

"That's the problem. She's _nice_. She fights crime, Gohan's family likes her, she's clever, and she obviously cares about Gohan and trusts him…" He groaned again, turning over onto his back so he could glare at the ceiling. "I wouldn't feel as bad about this if she were a bitch, but she's not. She's going to get hurt. I don't want to hurt anyone. Gohan was the only one who was supposed to get hurt, but it would have been okay because I'd be able to correct it… But I won't be able to correct it for Videl. I'll be taking away someone she loves and never giving him back."

"Well I guess you're going home then? If you leave now, it'll be almost like you were never here. The Band-Aid hasn't been ripped off completely for him – …"

"No way!" the hybrid interrupted, sitting up abruptly. A little smile crept across his mother's face. She hid it by taking another puff of her cigarette. "Hurting her or not, I'm not leaving! I came here for a reason and I'm not stopping until I get what I came for!"

Bulma never expected her son to show up again – no one did. 7 years ago, she mourned the loss of him after he left for his world. He recovered from his encounter with Bojack, said goodbye, then up and left, never to return. But, there he was this morning, sitting in the kitchen with her mother as she stuffed him with tea and morning cakes.

Of course, she was thrilled to see him, and even more thrilled to introduce him to his younger self. But, after everything settled down, after Trunks left for school, after Vegeta left to train, and after her father left to work in the labs, Trunks told her why he returned.

Grinning, she agreed to give her help however and whenever he needed it. She filled him in on everything that had happened to them since Bojack, where Gohan went to school, when his school day was over, and how they could probably get the boy to spend time with Trunks.

"He'll probably hate me as soon as he sees me," Trunks admitted, ashamed.

"Well, you _did_ break his heart. He may be Goku's kid, but he's definitely got some Chichi in there, too. You're going to have to work hard at this to earn his trust back. He still loves you, Trunks, I know it. But he's spent almost a decade with Chichi alone, and you know how she is… That kind of brainwashing would get to anyone, eventually."

The next day, Trunks prepared himself for his tutoring. Having not had a lesson for years, he wasn't really sure what to expect from someone who has had a formal education. His mentor, Gohan, had only ever been homeschooled up until age 10, but his new tutor has spent the last year in real, structured classrooms.

As it neared 4 PM, he ran a hand through his hair and touched his lip. It didn't look quite as bad as the day before – it wasn't red or swollen anymore, but there was a still prominent, yet healing, wound and a bruise surrounding it.

4:30 PM and his younger self came home from elementary school. He asked to play together, but Trunks refused, saying he was waiting for Gohan to show up for tutoring.

5 PM and Bulma asked him where Gohan was. He had no idea. Class let out for the teen 2 hours ago, so by this point it was obvious he was being intentionally late. Chichi called his mother earlier in the day to accept the offer on her son's behalf and got the details for Trunks's tutoring, so Gohan knew what to do. He should have gone to Capsule Corporation right after school.

"Want me to call Chichi?" Bulma offered, waving her cell phone.

"Don't," Trunks stopped her. "If Chichi knows he's this late, then he'll only get in trouble, and that'll just make things worse." He sat back in his seat, staring down at his empty notebook and pencils with nervous desperation. "He'll come…" He repeated it in his head, _he'll come. He'll come._

He'll come…

"Gohan?" Videl poked her boyfriend curiously and propped herself up on her elbow. The boy in question opened one eye, and glanced at her, not otherwise moving from his comfy position on her soft, fluffy mattress. After class, it was Gohan's insistence that they hang out together that made them end up in her bedroom with the door locked.

"It's 6 now. Shouldn't you go to Capsule Corp. and tutor Trunks?" she wondered. As her boyfriend sighed, she glanced at the darkening sky through the white, French doors that led out to her own, personal balcony. "He's probably wondering where you are."

"I'd rather stay here with you," he replied as he rolled over and leaned over her, trapping her beneath him. She giggled as he leaned down and kissed her cheek and neck. Still, she pushed at his shoulders and gave him a playful smile.

"Your mom will get mad if you skip out on this," she reasoned as her boyfriend kissed down her bare shoulder until his lips reached the soft fabric of her bra. The two of them had been fooling around earlier, thanks to Gohan's strange eagerness to advance their relationship, though they still hadn't gone all the way. The time wasn't right, Videl insisted.

"She can yell at me all she likes." An impatient hand trailed down her soft body, landing on the cute patterns that covered her panties. Just as his fingers slipped underneath to touch the curly, dark hairs beneath, a small hand grabbed his and pulled it away.

"Gohan," Videl said firmly, running her free hand through her boyfriend's thick hair. He sighed against her shoulder. He knew that tone. It meant playtime was over. "You need to tutor him. He came all this way just to get your help – besides, he's your friend, right?" She eyed him curiously as he lifted off of her, humming a vague response.

Handing him his glasses, she noticed his sudden distance. Was it because she rejected his advances, or was it because she told him to go and tutor Trunks? Maybe it was a combination of both?

After they dressed, she took his arm, stopping him from exiting through the French doors.

"Did something happen between you two?" she asked, noting his behavior with a practiced eye. Suddenly tensed muscles, subtle intake of breath, quirk of his brow… Anyone else could probably be fooled, but Videl was an expert at reading people. Something happened between those two.

"No," he lied.

He met her eyes with firm devotion to his lie, his heart picking up speed as she stood straight and analyzed him with a leveled gaze.

Then, she smiled and released his arm.

"I'll find out eventually, Gohan," she promised. He released a breath and turned toward the doors, opening them so a cool winter breeze could blow inside. After he left, she let her smile drop. Gohan has spilled his life to her – every secret he had. Every facet of his being was an enigma, from his godlike strength, speed, and abilities that seemed like magic, to his inhuman DNA, which was alike to only two other beings in the entire universe.

Except now, he was alike one more; someone from a different universe.

Gohan has told her all of that, but he hid this person from the future?

What happened?

Cold, she shut the doors and drew the curtains.

She'd find out, for sure.

Trunks jumped when the doorbell buzzed, nearly throwing his notebook out of his hands. It was 6:30 and the sun was long gone, so he'd almost given up hope. It took all of his self-control not to sprint to the door, but he was still unable to take the giddy, nervous edge out of his step. As he passed his younger self, the boy rolled his eyes and took a swing from his water bottle.

"Oh come on, it's _just_ Gohan. You're not scared of him, are you?" he jabbed before going back to his handheld game. The boy earned a sharp glare, but he ignored it. He received glares from his mom and dad all the time – one more couldn't be any more effective. Right now he was more concerned with beating Goten on their fighting game – that and arguing with the other little boy through his headset.

The time traveler's face started to heat up when he opened the front door, despite the snowy air that floated in. Gohan stood there in a soft, yellow sweater and black slacks, his hair and clothes sprinkled with snowflakes. His pale cheeks and nose were flushed red from the flight over.

A little smile crept across the older hybrid's face. It wasn't the clothes or the redness or the snowflakes that made him smile – it was the simple, black frames that sat perfectly in front of the boy's dark eyes.

Gohan didn't see the grin, as he breezed by Trunks wordlessly, toting his backpack filled with books on one shoulder. As he entered the warm house, his glasses began to fog, so he took them off and started cleaning the lenses with the edge of his sweater. Noticing the older hybrid's silence, he quickly glanced up at him and felt his face flush darker. Trunks was beaming at him like a dog whose master just came home.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized without depth.

"It's okay," Trunks replied warmly, walking up to the boy, who immediately stepped further into the living room. The younger version of the annoying man waved at him distractedly from his spot on the couch. Surely Trunks wouldn't try to say or do anything stupid as long as the kid was in sight, Gohan wondered.

When he turned back to the man in question, his heart nearly leapt out of his chest. Trunks was directly behind him, leaning in so their noses were nearly touching. Gohan was frozen, hands gripping his backpack's shoulder strap so tightly his knuckles were turning white. Sky blue eyes were focused on his dark greys, staring with intensity.

Trunks suddenly leaned back, smirking.

"I didn't know you wore glasses." It was a simple statement, and it was said just as simply, as if they weren't inches apart just moments ago.

Stammering, Gohan recovered slowly, "I'm-I've need-needed them since I was 8, but we couldn't afford them until a few months after that intergalactic tournament. My vision sucks – I'm extremely nearsighted, so I can't see very far away without them."

"Really? You weren't wearing them yesterday."

"I wear contacts instead, for my Saiyaman costume. I used up my last pair and I can't afford to buy any more for a while."

"Can't you just wear your Saiyaman costume with your frames?" Trunks wondered, noticing his younger self cringe noticeably at the mention of the uniform.

"No, because it needs sunglasses to hide my face. I can't wear frames under sunglasses. Not that it matters anymore…" he muttered the last part, heading towards the kitchen so they could set up at the table.

"Why doesn't it matter anymore?" the older hybrid asked, bringing his notebook and pencils along eagerly and watching Gohan pull books from his backpack.

"Because _someone_ knocked my sunglasses off my face yesterday while he was _rescuing_ me," Gohan snapped, his face flushing again. "And I can't afford to buy anymore!"

He expected Trunks to sigh in mock relief – a stab at his alternate ego, as the boy sitting in the living room would – but instead, the time traveler paused and watched the teen with a sincere frown.

"I'm sorry," he apologized softly, brows drawn low with concern and worry on his handsome face. Gohan's face turned even darker until he could feel his ears burning. "I didn't know. I'll replace them for you, I promise."

"It's-It's not a big deal!" Gohan claimed, flinging his book open to hide the shakiness of his hands. "I can't dress as Saiyaman again until I order new contacts, anyway, so it doesn't matter!"

Trunks frowned again, not believing him. Still, he took a seat next to the younger hybrid and watched as he fumbled through a math textbook.

If Gohan's vision started to decay even as a child, did that mean the Gohan he grew up with also couldn't see well? Exactly how far away was 'too far'? Judging from the thickness of his lenses, the boy was practically blind. Trunks's heart twisted at the newfound information, imagining how often his mentor must have wandered around in a blurry world.

Gohan's heart was racing as he mindlessly thumbed through his textbook. Trunks was staring at him, and it was unnerving him. Has anyone ever told this guy he's not supposed to stare? What the hell is he looking at, anyway?!

Taking a deep breath, Gohan focused on his subject, slowly slipping into a zone of comfort. Once he was ready, though still not making eye contact, he began, "I guess before I throw you into calculus, I should figure out where you stand in math. How advanced do you think you are?"

Trunks blinked before turning his eyes up in thought. He leaned back in his chair, going back through his mind. "Um… Well…" It was obvious he wasn't sure. Gohan frowned and thumbed to an early chapter in his textbook.

"Have you ever studied calculus?"

"No," Trunks laughed, crossing his arms loosely over his stomach. "Not even close."

"How about trigonometry? Do you know what sine, cosine, and tangent mean? Do you know how to use pi in an equation?"

"Uh…"

"Alright. Do you know what a hypotenuse is? Or how to find the area of a circle?"

"Mm…"

"Geometry's probably shaky then. How about solving for variables? Do you know functions?"

Trunks gave him a blank look, finally meeting Gohan's eyes as the younger boy gave him a bewildered look.

"Okay… Does 'order of operations' ring a bell?" Another blank look. Gohan drew his lips into a thin line. "Did he teach you how to _add_?"

Trunks frowned back, sitting up in his chair again. "Of course he did. I know how to subtract, multiply, and divide, too! I just don't know what that other stuff is!" Was Gohan getting frustrated?

A small sigh, "Okay. Your math is elementary at best. Before we go into physics or chemistry, you're going to need to have a lot stronger foundation in mathematics. I think we'll need to review the basics, too, so let's start with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division…"

As the two of them worked, the youngest hybrid in the house watched with shameless curiosity from his place on the living room couch. He could barely hear them, even with one side of his headphones pushed away from his ear, but he heard them still. With a soft growl, he adjusted his headset so it sat properly on his head.

"Goten," he said softly into the microphone, looking back down at the handheld game. His friend replied with a concentrated hum, connected to him through the game. "Goten, I think the me from the future – I think he's an idiot."

"He didn't sound like an idiot when he was over last night," Goten replied distractedly, obviously more absorbed in their game than the conversation. From the Son home, he rapidly tapped the controls, doing his best to take Trunks's character down. "He was really interesting, and Daddy says he was a really good fighter."

"But he's in his 20's and he barely knows how to divide!" Trunks growled back, glancing up at the two elder half-Saiyans studying in the kitchen. "He hasn't even wanted to play with me since he got here! All he's talked about is your brother! 'Gohan this, Gohan that, no I can't play, Trunks, I'm gonna wait for 3 hours and do nothing until Gohan comes over!'"

"I don't know how to divide, either," Goten giggled back through the headset. Trunks sighed and glared down at his game. "But isn't that guy from an apocalypse? I guess all the schools were destroyed, so it's not like he had teachers like we do or anything, you know?"

"Yeah. All he had was your brother from their world. Him and my mom. Or his mom. Whatever."

"Guess that's why he's so excited to see Gohan again. If I didn't see Gohan for a long time, I'd wanna spend as much time with him as possible when I saw him again, too!"

Trunks frowned, glancing up at the kitchen again. There was a concentrated look on the face of his older self as Gohan walked him through working some problem – probably one that would be entirely too simple for the 9-year-old, himself.

"But to study…?" Trunks glared at his older self hotly. Trunks just wants Gohan to teach him things, then he's just going to go back to his world. Sure, the dork loved studying, and he especially loved studying sciences, but if this was all the time traveler wanted Gohan for… "What a jerk."

A loud, high-pitched beeping rang through the boy's ears, making him jump. Alarmed, he glanced back down to his handheld. With one last strike, Goten's character finished him off – having the upperhand since Trunks was distracted. A loud cackling came from the youngest Son as a string of curse words came from the lavender-haired boy's mouth.

"…Good job, good job…" Gohan mumbled, checking over Trunks's long division. All except the last one were correct, and as he lay the sheet down on the table for Trunks to see, all while explaining the minor problem, their arms brushed. His voice hung in his throat, as he hadn't realized how close they'd moved together over the last two hours.

Trunks didn't flinch as he leaned in to erase the mistake he'd made, filling it in with the correction.

"Is that better?" he asked, sliding his eyes over to his tutor. The sudden tension in the younger boy wasn't lost on him. He'd been steadily sliding closer so Gohan wouldn't notice, but it looked like he was caught now. "Gohan?" he called when there was no answer.

Dark eyes trailed from the worksheet, up a toned, tanned arm, to his collarbone. Trunks waited eagerly as onyx smoothed from his chin to his lips to his nose, almost afraid…

They made eye contact. Trunks's heart leapt to his throat at the deep, vulnerable expression on the boy's face, even from behind the thick frames. Finally, a real moment of contact with the boy he left behind years ago – one untainted by anger or hate or feigned indifference. Trunks took a good look at that boy, memorizing every detail of his heart, so open and available. He saw pain.

It was fleeting, however, because a familiar voice piped up from the entrance to the kitchen. Just like that, the walls were back up.

"Oh, Gohan! Good to see you. I'm glad you could make it," Bulma said with a wink, making the boy's nerves fray at the ends as he began to comprehend where he was and who he was with. Trunks leveled a steady gaze on him, smiling gently.

"U-Um," he stammered, "sorry for being late. I was caught up at school."

"Of course. Listen, it's getting kind of late, I think your mom might be worried about you. If you want to stay, that's fine, but I think you should call your mom first – …"

"Um – no, it's okay. I think we're at a good stopping point." He stood suddenly, shakily putting his books away. He'd been so at ease with the time traveler – how could he let his guard down without so much as a fight? He's supposed to be angry at Trunks! "I should go home. Mom will be worried."

Trunks stood as well, giving his tutor space to put himself back together as Bulma chatted with him about their study session. All he had were his pencils and notebook, so his cleanup was quick and simple.

Before Gohan could escape, Bulma pushed $40 into his palm. Gohan stared at the money in awe, as if he'd never seen it before.

"What is this?" he asked dumbly, looking back at the blue-haired woman. She laughed in response.

"Your pay, of course. You get paid $20 an hour, and you've been teaching Trunks for a good two. What, you didn't know how much your pay was? Didn't your mom tell you?"

"…Th-This is too much, here," he insisted, pushing the money back at her, but she crossed her arms.

"Okay, I see why she didn't tell you."

"All I did was review basic operations, take it back."

"You'll accept it and you'll like it."

"I didn't do enough to deserve this."

"Oh my God Gohan just take the money! You're distracting me!" the 9-year-old snapped from the couch. Gohan shot him a glare, but he was only met with the frustrated tapping of little fingers on a poor handheld device. "And hit your brother for me when you get home!"

Eventually, the silent time traveler was able to walk his tutor to the front door. Gripping his backpack nervously with both hands, Gohan couldn't meet those sharp eyes again. They'd just tear him to shreds.

"Tomorrow we're going over fractions…" he mumbled, pretending to fumble with the clip on his bag. "There's a lot to do with them, so it might take a while. After that, we'll start exponents and then order of operations."

"Okay." It was said with an easy smile. "Thank you for coming over."

Gohan stood awkwardly, keeping his eyes lowered to at least Trunks's chest, though trying his best to not really _look_ at it. Finding it difficult, he instead slid his eyes to the side, opting to stare at the pottery. What would he do if Trunks tried to touch him again? Tried to grab him again, like last night? …Tried to hug him? Gohan was supposed to be angry at Trunks, but he found himself unsure if he could resist.

"See you tomorrow," Trunks said then, still smiling, once he realized Gohan wasn't going to reply. He walked away, leaving Gohan to see himself out. Gohan stared after him, eyes wide.

His heart sank to his stomach. Turning to the door slowly, he walked out into the frozen air.

As he flew home, the feeling wouldn't shake off or go away, even as Gohan's face went numb from the cold.

Walking through his living room, he greeted his mother without enthusiasm and vaguely answered her questions about his day. As he passed Goten, who was sprawled out comfortably on the couch with a headset on and a video game in his hands, he thumped the boy hard on his forehead.

"Ow! Gohan! What was that for?" he whined, listening to Trunks begin to laugh maniacally through the headset.

Locking his door, Gohan dropped his ice-covered backpack on the floor with a hard _thump_. Clothes hit the floor as he stripped while trudging toward his bed. By the time he flopped down onto the familiar mattress, he was down to his underwear, ready to sleep the rest of his life away.


End file.
